by Anna Ruch
It took a few seconds again before I realized that I was not alone in the room after all. Mrs. Miller had only changed her position. She was now leaning against her desk and smiling at me. And that smile went right through me. I don't know how long this moment actually lasted, but none of us managed to make a sound. The longer this seemingly abstruse situation lasted, the clearer it became that it was really Emma who was standing there facing me. And now I noticed that insecurity and growing realization were also visible in her face. An outsider would probably have wondered what film was being shown to us while observing this strange situation and our strange behaviour. The whole room seemed to me somehow electrified. I was unable to show any movement.
How could that be? This was the only thought that kept rotating through my brain while I was standing there like rooted to the ground. Now it slowly moved towards me. In her familiar facial features I could see a slight insecurity.
"Hannah?"
Yeah, that was her voice. The quiet sound sent shivers down my spine one by one.
"Yes, it's me," I stammered soundlessly, and my answer seemed pretty stupid at the same moment I said it. My mouth was dry, I could hear my heartbeat pounding.
"Oh, my God. How I hoped to find you in Cologne." Emma beamed at me. She came closer and closer until our faces were only a few centimeters apart. I felt the warmth of her body and wanted to drown in her eyes.
"How did you know you would find me right here," I asked, but before she could give me an answer, our lips met and touched each other gently and carefully. Like then her kiss catapulted me into another dimension. Happiness shone through my body and I imagined not touching the ground with my feet. A felt eternity later we separated from each other and looked deep into each other's eyes.
"Let's go. I want to tell you so much, know so much about you. But not here." With these words Emma found her way back to the present. "I'll let Maike know that we're going to have lunch and then continue our conversation outside the house. Is that okay with you?"
Was I okay with that? It was more than okay! And I just managed to give a stuttering "yes" from me when she already reached for the phone and explained the situation to Maike.
I couldn't help but look at her all the time. My mind was racing. In my belly a big parade was taking place and my heart was setting the pace.
We decided on a restaurant in the Rheinauhafen, which was only a few hundred meters away.
While we walked alongside the short promenade, I found some time to collect myself. I noticed that Emma too seemed to be floating somewhere between the worlds.
We found a table with a view of the leisurely splashing water of the Rhine, ordered two prosecco's from the waiter and then I was eager to know how our meeting today came about.
"Oh, Emma, I want to know everything now: how you are, where you've been, and how you found me?"
"How am I supposed to feel after I finally find you again. I'm fine, very, very fine. And I'm happy." Emma smiled and took my hand. "After my letter to you, I was initially convinced I'd taken the right path. "But my feelings for you and our magic visited me every night. As much as I tried to convince myself I had to go my way without you, I couldn't."
I smiled at her and lightly squeezed her hand. "Then you've had the same experience as me."
"The days and weeks went by, and I just couldn't get a clear thought. Every touch of you was burned into my soul. "Meditating on everything, my work on the plantations helped me not to forget.
Embarrassed, she looked at me as if she was ashamed of it.
"Each day made it clearer to me that I wanted nothing more than to be with you. But how could I have done it? After all, I had broken up with you. In the end, after all that brooding, I was sure that I had hurt you so much that you would never give me another chance."
Tears were shimmering in her beautiful eyes and I had the feeling that my throat was closing up.
"After my return from Bali, I met John at some point. He told me that you were very successful with your company.
"John never told me he met you." "I asked him to do this because I thought that you had made a commitment. He had told me how well you were doing and how happy you were.
"Oh, Emma, how could you possibly relate that to another relationship? It's true, I was happy and content in my job. But I was totally inspired by both of our encounters and all the time I had only one thought: when will I see Emma again? I blocked all my friends' attempts to set me up. I only wanted and still want you. You changed everything for me so radically. You brought magic into my life. I knew from the moment I met you that I wanted to share my life with you. There was and is no room for anyone else."
"I felt and hoped of course, but I also knew that it was not our time yet. I wanted to process my experiences and impressions first and find my way back into normal life. Then, a few months ago, I heard about the vacancy in the advertising agency here. John had got wind of it through an acquaintance. Since the profile fit me perfectly, I applied without further ado.
The waiter brought our drinks. We raised our glasses and toasted to our reunion. With an intense look in our eyes and a fleeting kiss we sealed the moment.
"John is really incredible," I resumed our conversation. "He kept asking me to keep an eye out for open positions in Cologne. He claimed that a friend of his was considering coming here, but only if he could be sure of getting a suitable position in an advertising agency. So you were that ominous friend!"
"Seems so." We could not help but laugh heartily about it. John had a chance to see us again, very cleverly arranged.
"Well, I'll tell you what, we owe John a big favor. He's proven to be a true friend and never stopped believing in us. Even though I didn't get to talk to him very often about us, he felt that our love and affection was something really special."
We talked and revelled in memories and did not even notice that it had become evening. Only when the waiter pointed out to us that he would like to call it a day, we realized that we were the last guests.
The question whether she wanted to come with me to my place did not have to be pronounced, we agreed that she would simply drive behind me in her car. Since it took us a good half an hour to get there, I had the opportunity to reflect and realize what was happening to me.
Emma was actually there. She was sitting in the car right behind me. I looked in the rearview mirror, but I couldn't see much in the dark. But that wasn't necessary, the important thing was that I knew she was there. And another thing I knew for sure: that I would never let her go out of my life again. That woman was my soul mate. When I looked into her eyes, I thought we knew each other from another life. As if our souls had journeyed through time to finally be close to each other again. Nothing had ever felt so pure and complete to me. It touched me deep inside my soul and gave my heart the beat in which it should send the flow of life through my body.
"So this is how you live." "Take a look around. I'll just get the lights and put on some music." Emma didn't let me tell you twice and made his way through my apartment. While I turned on the music upstairs, Emma took care of the wine as a matter of course and found the glasses without any problems, as if she had put the cupboards away with them. I decided on a mixture of classical music and smooth jazz - hoping, of course, that it would suit her taste.
I dimmed the regular light, lit all the candles and transformed my apartment into an oasis of warm and romantic glow. We sat down on the sofa, toasted each other, and although we both felt that we were vibrating with energy and desire, we tried to concentrate on our conversation.
For a short moment we also managed to stay firm, but then we slid further and further towards each other. Finally we met for a redeeming and never-ending kiss. At first very timidly our hands went on a journey of exploration, stroking and caressing. With every fibre of our bodies, which seemed to melt together, we felt the mutual desire.
After the finally overcome time of unfulfilled longings and desires, only one thing counted: to let
oneself fall carefree into the intimacy of the other, to feel the other, to become one with the loved one who was only in the world to perfectly complement the imperfection of the other. Nothing could separate us anymore, no questions, no uncertainties, no obstacles. Our bodies knew only one common language. It was relieving not to have to restrain our sensations, just to let ourselves drift on the wave of affection and unrestricted trust, on which there were only the two of us left: her and me. Her hands were so warm and soft on my skin. Her quick breath pulled me into her passion.
Again and again our eyes met. How beautiful my beloved Emma was. The softly flickering shimmer of the candles made her look a thousand times more beautiful. Never before in my life had I felt so deeply and unconditionally for another person. We looked deeply into each other's eyes to make sure that we were now really together and not just in dreams. All pain, sadness and loneliness of days gone by were forgotten. Without saying it, we both knew that from now on we would share our lives with each other. We would create the place where there was only us and our love.
End
about the author
Anna Ruch
Born in 1972, grew up in the Ruhr area and has lived in the Rhineland since the age of 30. In her actual profession she is a coach and trainer for change processes.
"Since I was already sure at the age of twelve that I would write books one day, I took the step at 42 and published my first short novel "The Pavilion – A special moment in New York" and the fairy tale "A Wonderful Encounter: The Fairy Tale of the Little Vampire".